FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – Fort Wayne Police are investigating a number of car break-ins throughout the city.

According to the Fort Wayne Police Department, there has been an uptick in car break-ins over the last month.

Police spokesman Michael Joyner said the department is constantly getting reports of purses, wallets, money, and electronics being stolen. He is urging residents to use caution.

Between March 1 and April 12, there have been 196 reported car break-ins. During the same time period last year, there were 143 car break-ins.

According to residents, there have been several car break-ins near West Paulding Road and Mclellan Street.

Katelyn Mann, who lives in that neighborhood, caught the thieves on her home surveillance camera. Mann said it happened around 4:15 a.m. Tuesday.

The surveillance video shows two people walking from a house across the street to the cars parked in front of her home.

She said the thieves busted her window but did not take anything. They did steal a cup of change and a bottle of root beer from her boyfriend’s car, which was unlocked.

“It blows my mind that they would go through that trouble for absolutely nothing,” said Mann. “There was maybe $7 in change, and a drink. It doesn’t make any sense to me.”

Officer Joyner said the rash of car break-ins has become frustrating for law enforcement, too.

“We have tried our best to point out that when you leave items of value in your car, you are setting yourself up for failure,” he said.

He said the solution in many cases is simple: keep your car doors locked and don’t leave anything of value inside the car.

“Just take 60 seconds out of the day and do a security scan of your vehicle,” he said. “Look at it and say, ‘What would tempt me to want to break into my car?’ Make it a completely sterile environment so there’s nothing of value in the car that would tempt someone to break in it.”

Joyner said using that extra precaution would likely drive down the number of car break-ins.